Creating a domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) that both has multijurisdictional contacts and is nonvoidable in whole or in part is easier said than done. There are the state conflict-of-laws issues, a few of which I...more
Consider the following situation. Settlor owns a thousand acres of land in a domestic-asset- protection haven (DAPT state). While he is alive, he transfers in trust the land to a corporate trustee that does business...more
In a Sept. 11, 2023 JDSUPRA posting I questioned the doctrinal and practical utility of partial legislative codifications of equity’s principles-based jurisprudence, such as the UTC, the very institution of the trust being a...more
People are understandably nervous about sharing personal data no matter the circumstances. That can be especially true regarding estate planning, given the existence of the recently enacted Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”)....more
During times of economic and tax law uncertainty, the more flexible your estate plan, the better. As some parts of the country are rebounding economically from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, other areas continue to...more
Creating an education legacy - For many people, an important goal of estate planning is to leave a legacy for their children, grandchildren and future generations. And what better way to do that than to help provide for...more
Supreme Court Ruling in North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, 588 U.S. [TBD] and its Relevance to Income Taxation of Accumulated Income in California Trusts - The Supreme Court...more
On June 24, 2019, Connecticut enacted HB 7104, adopting the Uniform Trust Act. One important provision of the act was the “Connecticut Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act,” permitting the establishment of self-settled...more
It’s one thing to earn enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. It’s yet another to develop a plan for protecting one’s assets so that there’s more for heirs after death. If one has been fortunate enough to achieve the former,...more
In late 2016, Michigan lawmakers passed a good deal of new legislation. One of the laws, the Qualified Dispositions in Trusts Act, enables an individual (the “settlor”) to create a trust that, in certain circumstances, can...more
Protecting family assets in the event of a divorce is particularly significant for family business owners, who typically want to avoid sharing ownership with their ex-spouses or their children’s ex-spouses. A prenuptial...more